Tan Kin Lian and his wife shaking hands at Whampoa Food Centre during their walkabout on Sunday morning. (Yaho …
Presidential candidate Tan Kin Lian said he will use the influence of the Presidency to make sure the reserves cater to a wider group of people.
In particular, he wants to use the reserves for the elderly poor, housing grants for national servicemen and policies that takes care of the needs of the ordinary people.
And he is not ruling not using the veto vote as a means to this end.
Speaking to reporters at Whampoa Food Centre during a walkabout on Sunday morning, Tan said, "The veto is used to get results that are better for the people."
But he added that he hopes that using the veto will be a last resort, and if the time comes for him to exercise his veto power, he would have to consider using it very carefully, as he does not "want it to be used in a way that sounds confrontational."
"I won't want to cause difficulty to the people of Singapore," he said.
After a Constitutional amendment in 1991, the year that Singapore's presidency first became an elected one, the President was given veto powers on five areas -- with spending on past reserves being one of them.
Saying that he does not want to use the veto power too early, what Tan aims to do instead to use a consultative approach with the government.
He noted that even before the proposal for spending the reserves comes to the President for approval, there should have been a prior consultative process so that the policies can reflect what Singaporeans want.
He said that he would like to get a mini-referendum to get the views of the people, and he would want to get these views known to the government so that changes that can be made into the proposal.
Among the four Presidential candidates, Tan believes that he is the one who knows best what to look out for when deciding on how the reserves should be used.
"Tony Tan carries a certain mindset about what the reserves are for, and I carry a different mindset because I know what is enough and what is too much," he said.
He added that even though there is the Council of Presidential Advisers to help in making decisions on the reserves, he believes that the final decision lies with the President himself.
He said: "In leadership, you have the advice of other people, but you need to make the final decision. To make this decision, it is based upon knowledge, experience and values."
He also responded to Dr Tan Cheng Bock's statement saying that candidates should not make promises that they cannot fulfill by saying: "I think we can be more positive. Things can be done that will be good for the future of the people. It's not easy, but it can be done."
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